Blowtorch



Oct. 26 1926.

` L. L. LASHER BLOWTORCH Filed March 12, 1926 as Vconvenience of removal Patented Oct. 26, 1926.

nirsnj STATES PATENT'. oFFIcE.

LESTER L. LASIIER, OF BEACHMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIG-NOR T0 LASI-IER-PEER- BLOW COMPANY, O F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0F MASSACHU- SETTS.

' Btowroncn.

Application mea Mal-gh 12, v192e. serial No. 94,351.

In the development of the blow torch, the wick as the important service element of the torch has been the` subjectV of considerable study and thought, and various types of wicks and wick mountings have been devised in the effort to obtaina construction which would satisfactorily meet all. of the require? ments imposed in the manufacture, assembly and use of the torch.l q In one type which hasfound favor in the trade, the wick is constructed as a relatively. short, permeable plug which is pressefitted into the upper end of thetorch barrel, and is centrally pierced to permit a separate and'` facturing cost of the torch, as well as making it practically impossible for the 4average torch user to replace a` spent wick. Moreover, the tendency of the plug is' to disintegrate upon removal,fand inasmuch as the lodgment of the plug in the torch barrelV is a press-fit, this very tightness Vof fit makes removal for purposes of replacement fquite diflicult. i r

To the end, therefore, of providing a wick unit and method of removably mounting the same within a torch barrel which willover come the objections to existing types, I have devised my' present invention. i.

According to my invention, the wick unit comprises a wick mounting constructed and arranged'for quick attachable and detachable connection with the torch barrel, and a wick removably carried bysaid mounting. By this construction, I avoid the necessity for press-litting the wick in `the Vtorch barrel, as in the case of the plug'wick, with resultant economy in manufacturing cost, as well and replacement of spent wicks; The wick, itself, may be a straightlength of absorbent wicking material rwhich is compressively but removably lodged within the wick mounting, such compressive lodgment effectively preventing leakage of the fuel therepast, and the exposedend of the wickv constituting the flame area or plug, 4*from whiohthe remainder of the wick extends as a "leaderf forfeeding the fuely thereto. My

wick, therefore retains all of the advantages of the old-style plug wick while avoiding-the diiiculties incidental .to assembly and replacement of such wick, When spent, my wick may be renewed by simply unscrewing the threaded shell, or wick mounting, from the torch barrel and substituting a new wick for the spent. one.

- Functionally, therefore, my wick mo-unting and wick constitute a -unit which is' at once 'both a properly, positioned wick .inthe torch ybarrel `and a potential refill for a torch of corresponding size. Gnce applied in thetorchibarrel, the wickv unit is to all intents and purposes fixed therein` until such time asthewicking is spent and requires replacement, whereupon it is simply necessary to withdraw the quick-detachable unit from the barrehremOVe the spent wick, insert a fresh one, and return the unit into the barrel. This may be done in the minimum time andk with the maximum ease. The wick units, moreover, are interchangeably usable in torch barrels of corresponding size, so that any unit` is a refill forvall torches of identical size, and hence maybe supplied independently ofthe torches, if desired. In contra-distinction,lthe plug wick must be drivefitted in the torch barrel, Vand the leader must be threaded through the plug, both operations requiring theV use of special fixtures, and hence the plug type of wick is wholly incapable of that speed andease'of assembly and detachment which characterizes my pres# ent invention.

` .Thequick detachable connection of the wick mounting with the torch barrel is such as to effectively seal'the upperend of the barrel against leakage of theV fuel past the wick "mounting, Ywhile however permitting ready 'insertion Aofthe wick unit'into and removal from the barrel. Although the wick wick mounting to such an extent as to nrevent leakage of fuel therethrough even if thetorch barrel is inverted and so that the two elements constitute a unit, vthe wick is not compressed so tightly, however, as to prevent the free flow of fuel therethrough by capillary attraction.

Structurally,TV my variety of forms. lustration in this application, and Awithout thereby limiting myself to structural detail, l shall describe and show V'in the accompanying speciiication and drawings, a form of my A iwick unit may "take a invention which l haveV found satisfactory in use and well adapted to the 'requirement-s of manufacture. lThroughout the specification and drawings, like-reference numerals are correspondingly applied, and in the drawings.

Fig.` l is an elevation, partly in section, of a blowl torch of standard type, 'equipped with a wickunit yin accordance with my invention.

l Fig. 2 is a'detail view; of the wick -unit removed fromthe torch barrel.

Y Fig. 3 is a'detail view of the wick mount-` ing or adapter, per se. Y

I have indicated at l the barrel,v and iat 2 the pressure chamber of a blow torch'ofstandard type.V The torch barrel l is. `provided at Veachend with an external seriesof screw threads 3 and 4, respectively, and the barrel ends are closed by screw caps 5 and 6, respectively, engaging 'said screw threads.

My wick unitl consists of a wick mounting or adapter member, indicatedgenerally at 7, and a length-of wickingmaterial 8. As here shown, the adapted H104 isa simpleshell or nipple having an external series of screw threads 9 adapted to enga-ge` inrinte'rnalt series of screw threads 10cutj-in the upper end of the torch barrel. Below the thread series 9, the adapter is reduced, as indicated at 1l, and terminating in an outwardly flared edge '12. Y v

The wicking 8 is a straight lengthl `of material introduced endwise through the adapter, being compressively held `therein by the reduced :portion 111 of the adapter. If desired, the wicking 8 may be :jacketed, as indicated at 13.

In assembling, the wicking is drawn through the adapter and projects slightly beyond the upper end thereof so as to constitute atV said end 'an exposed flame area disposed beneath the gas orifice lll` of the goose neck leading 'from' the pressure chamber Q-of the torch.` The reduced portion of the adapter compressively clamps 'the wicking to theadapter sothatthe wick and adapter-constitutea unit, a1id the compression ofthewick by' said 'reduced-portion is sufficient to prevent leakage of fuel through the unit even though the torch be inverted, but not sufficient to prevent free flow of fuel through the wicking` under the influence of capillary attraction. The degree of compression, however,l is not sufficient to interfere with the free flow of the fuel in the torch barrel through the wicking.

By removing the upper screw cap 5, the

'wick unit'may beinserted endwise into the For the "purposes of iltorch' barrel, the screw. threads 9 of the adapter engaging the internal thread series 10 of the torch barrel and tightly sealing Mthe barrelat this endoso as to prevent escape of the fuel past the adapter, should the torch be. inverted orflaid uponits side.

Then the wicking isspent, it may be renewed by simply removing the adapter fromV the barrel,` drawing the spent wicking out of the adapter, substituting a fresh'wicking, and yreplacing the adapter in the barrel. The outwardly flared edge 12 ofthe adapter prevents the wicking from raveling and fraying as it is drawn through the adapter.

My wick l,unit thus permits the use of straight wicks, and these wicks and their adapter mountings Y may be supplied in standardsizes, accordingY to the size of the torch.V The adapters andswicks are therefore interchangeably fusable in torches ofV corresponding size, permitting a replacement standardization not possible with the plug typel wick, 'as well'as `a considerable saving in manufacturing 'cost due to the fact that I avoid the necessity for drive-fitting the wick unit in the torch barrel, as inthe case of the plugwick, and for threading a leader through the plug. i

-' Preferably, the adapter 10=is pierced, as at l0', to 4provide ajrelief vent for the'pressure within vthe barrel l. This relievingfvent avoids the possibility of the `pressure driving the fuel up past the adapter and becoming ignited atthe .exposed flame larea ofthe wicking-andrunning down the sides of the barrehunder whichcircumstances the barre could not be comfortably grasped and held in the hand-.1 y g Although I have illustrated a construction inwhich vthe adapter is Vscrew-threaded within the torch-barrel, my adapter and the torch barrel obviously may be provided with other forms ofquick detachable connections. These, and such; other modifications of structure and' method as fall within the spirit andfsco'pe of my invention, may all be resorted tok within theV limits of Vappended Claim.' i Y Y f i lVhatl'Itherefore "claim and desire-to secure lby fllietters Patent is than the?.V normal lcross-sectional'-fareagofa Wick adapted to be held Within the member, area than the bore of said first mentioned to cause part of a Wick arranged Within the portion and Which normally receives the member to be maintained suieiently comame end of the Wick, and means on said 10 pressed to prevent leakage of fuel from the last mentioned tubular portion for detach- 5 torehbarrel When the toreh'is inverted, said ably securing the member. Within a torch member also ineludinganother tubular porbarrel.` tion having a bore of greater cross-sectional i LESTER L. LASHER. 

